Ill. Governor Rejects Death Penalty Bill

Gov. George Ryan took legislation meant to punish terrorists with the death penalty and altered it to include new safeguards in the state’s troubled capital punishment system.

The changes he made Friday include having the state Supreme Court more closely review each death sentence, barring the execution of mentally retarded defendants and recommending that confessions in capital cases be videotaped.

Ryan drew national attention two years ago when he put a moratorium on executions in the state, citing statistics showing that since 1977, 13 death row inmates were freed because they had been wrongly convicted.

The Republican governor said in June that he might even propose abolishing capital punishment in Illinois.

Now, lawmakers must decide whether to accept Ryan’s changes, let the anti-terrorism bill die or try to find enough votes to reverse his action.

This is the second time Ryan has rejected the legislation, which has been pushed by state Atty. Gen. Jim Ryan in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The governor and the attorney general are not related.

The anti-terrorism measure would give police greater power to listen in on suspects’ telephone conversations, make it a felony to take a firearm on an airplane and let the attorney general freeze terrorists’ assets.

It also would make terrorism a death penalty offense, something the governor says is covered by existing laws. Ryan used his veto power to remove that section from an earlier version of the bill, but lawmakers restored it.

This time, Ryan left the death penalty but added the highlights of 85 reforms recommended by his capital punishment commission in April.

Legislators will consider Ryan’s changes in November. They can accept them with a simple majority vote or override them with a three-fifths majority in each chamber.

Ryan applauded the attempt to crack down on terrorism but said he could not expand the death penalty until his reform proposals receive “real legislative attention.”